New sculpture to make a splash at convention center

Tucson firm chosen for $1.34 million commission

Updated 11:42 am, Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The Tucson, Arizona firm Joe O'Connell + Creative Machines has been awarded a $1.34 million commission to create a splashy kinetic sculpture for the George R. Brown (GRB) Convention Center. And we do mean wet.

"Wings Over Water," an impossible-to-miss attraction between the center and Discovery Green, will sit within a 24-by-62-foot base pool known as the "Fountain of the Americas." The 25-by-35-foot sculpture is made of stainless steel and curved polycarbonate "feathers" designed to mesmerize as they move.

A sensor will allow visitors to change the lighting by waving their hands. At other times the sculpture will cycle through pre-programmed movement effects. At night, the LED lighting will illuminate its translucent wings.

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O'Connell's company has created lighted sculptures for public spaces across the Southwest, including two San Antonio installations. ("Ballroom Luminoso" lights up the underpass at I-35 and Theo/Malone Streets, and "El Bosque" decorates the exterior of the Encino Branch Library.) It also recently completed a project for a museum in Belgium.

"Wings Over Water" is meant to evoke, in part, migrating birds.

"The connection between avian and human migration reflects Houston's diverse population, but also the idea that people come to Houston from throughout the Americas and beyond," O'Connell said. The sculpture also uses flight as a metaphor for potential and change and nods to Houston's aerospace heritage, he added.

Dawn Ullrich, president and CEO of Houston First Corporation, which manages the convention center, thinks the sculpture will become an attraction all its own.

The design was chosen by a peer review panel from four finalists out of 94 submissions to an open call for proposals managed by the Houston Arts Alliance. Jonathon Glus, the alliance's president and CEO, said his organization will work with O'Connell's group during the next year to help realize the project.